As Image & Form often reminds us, its now-familiar core IP began with SteamWorld: Tower Defense on DSiWare, a thoroughly decent tower defence game. It was SteamWorld Dig that was transformative for the studio, however, achieving well-earned success on the 3DS and a range of other platforms. That allowed the team to up the ante in terms of technology and ambition with turn-based play in SteamWorld Heist, further establishing the company's reputation. Now we come back around to the game that was second in the series but really started it all, with a fully fledged sequel in the form of SteamWorld Dig 2.

Upon booting up the game and starting the story it's immediately apparent that Image & Form has never been so confident in its own qualities; the look that's graced the series since the original Dig has become refined and eye catching, with the visuals being undeniably striking. We started off with the system docked and the game looks terrific, with environments being heavily stylised. Switching to the portable mode the game still shines visually; in fact, we were drawn to handheld play on a regular basis during our playthrough.

Early on players learn the basics through carefully choreographed albeit hands-off tutorial areas. You're guided to specific points, earn new abilities and even have an early boss encounter; this battle sets the tone and brings some fantastical colour to proceedings. Playing as Dorothy, you quickly learn that she's on the hunt for Rusty following the events of Dig 1, and teams up with a floating light-based being with a name familiar to fans of Heist and its Outsider DLC. The game is full of references to lore - we found ourselves piecing it together as we played - and the game also has a cute way of recounting the basic events of Dig.

Pretty soon you meet a new cast of quirky bot characters and you get into the nitty gritty - digging and exploring. The term 'Metroidvania' certainly does apply, as your chances of reaching new areas are restricted by a mix of gear and mysterious abilities that Dorothy inherits from machines scattered through the world. Early on you discover simple and familiar things like dashing, but later you get goodies like a hookshot and 'jackhammer', a powerful ability to bash through previously impenetrable rock. Dig 2 goes further in its abilities that its predecessor, with some pleasing surprises the further you progress that also play into nice puzzle and exploration elements.

The core loop remains, too - you dig not only to explore and carry out objectives, but to accumulate wealth. Blocks with minerals and ores are clearly marked, and by mining these and taking them to the surface you make money that you can then invest in improvements to your toolset. As always digging has a bit of engineering nous to it, as you work around (or towards) enemies, and try to ensure that you dig in such a way that you can easily retrace your steps back to a checkpoint. There are pipes that serve as warp points, too, so you can plan your tunnelling around managing smaller areas between these fast-travel resources.

Once you return to the surface it's all a balancing act as you consider how to spend your money - expand your bag to carry more minerals, strengthen the ever important pickaxe? Minerals are finite - though there's no major shortage - so the fear of dying is also ever-present; if you die you lose some or all of your collected resources, though your stack of cash goes untouched.

An addition here are upgrade cogs that you find, often within challenge rooms scattered around the world. These challenges are a nice diversion, often riffing on a recently discovered ability, and the cogs themselves can be used to add special abilities to your various tools and gadgets. It's all very well balanced - as you acquire wealth and improve your gear more abilities are available, and you find cogs to make the upgrades. You can also move these cogs around as you please, so when heading to an area with lava, for example, you can give up a couple of abilities elsewhere to free up enough cogs to increase your resistance to dangerous terrain.

As is now typical of Image & Form games it's carefully constructed and works beautifully in practice. The mechanics make the process of digging, exploring and progressing the story feel entirely natural, at least in our case. That's just as well, too, as it's a sizeable world we're dealing with. Initially it feels like the original in size, but then the story and scope expands and you gradually stretch into dark areas of the sizeable map. There's nice variety in environments, too, with different types of enemies and terrains to explore.

While the first game's story was relatively light in scope, leaving you to piece it together yourself for the most part, there's a bigger narrative here to match the sizeable world. There are some interesting interactions and twists, though its finale is easily guessed a good while before you get there. Structurally it's pretty standard stuff - revisit old areas but dig deeper to find important items, for example - but it's entertaining, especially with all the dangnabbit-style Steambot talk.

Players can also choose how much help they want; in the interests of brevity we kept the game's full map system, which generally points you in the right direction for the current objective. This makes sense when there are multiple segments to the sizeable world, but some seeking a greater challenge may want to turn these off for a longer, more detailed playthrough. For our part we saw the credits with our save file clocking our run at around 6.5 hours, but the statistics showed that - despite finding the core abilities - we'd only found about a third of the 'Secrets', including collectable bits-and-bobs that you trade for upgrade blueprints. We only got a silver rank for that time, too, so the idea is clearly to encourage everyone into speedruns.

We have little doubt we will revisit it, too, as it's an enjoyable ride while it lasts. Though the overall story is easy to predict it does fit into the series lore very well, and the interactions between Dorothy and her ethereal friend are particularly entertaining. There's one scripted segment - that we won't spoil in detail - that really stands out too, sweeping you into a highly mechanised and creepy sci-fi environment. In fact, that part was that little bit too short, a fun idea that could have been used more. We were certainly left wanting more when it ended; that's a sign of the game's quality, and a reminder that there are limits to what small studios can do even with the most ambitious of ideas. The credits were eye-opening in showing the modest size of the team that produced such an impressive game.

As for where SteamWorld Dig 2 stands in the current indie scene, after its predecessor rocked the boat in 2013? It's among the elite Switch eShop games, and certainly stacks up well within the broader Indie world. It's of a similar level to Heist, too, in that it's the highly polished, quality work of a studio that's clearly on a roll. It's also another terrific arrival for the Switch, especially as it looks so handsome in the portable configuration. We tended to prefer the 3DS versions of Dig and Heist, as they felt like they belonged on the system. On Switch you get the best of both worlds, as you can enjoy the HD experience either way, and it's games like Dig 2 that highlight the console's concept the best.

Conclusion

SteamWorld Dig 2 is another confident effort from Image & Form, and a worthy successor to a game that's a treasured part of many eShop collections. Stylish and good-looking, it also has the series' trademark humour and, yes, a pretty good soundtrack. It refines and expands upon the qualities of the original and hits some delicious high points, albeit some of the smartest segments and ideas appear only briefly. It sets the scene for more content and games, too, which is pleasing to see.

For fans of SteamWorld Dig we suspect the recommendation isn't needed as they'll buy this anyway. For those that skipped the first game, however, Dig 2 is a must-have - its charming aesthetic and cast set the scene for a tightly designed and clever exploration game. Now the wait begins for SteamWorld Dig 3.

Glad to see it's been worth the wait and lives up to expectations. Still, $20 seems pricey for 6-ish hours of gameplay. Being the cheapskate I am, I'll likely wait for a sale. I felt a little burned by the amount of content after buying Heist for $20, personally. I'm also hoping for a physical release at some point.

I love everything about these games, so you could imagine my excitement. Don't let the 20 dollar price tag discourage you from the game I got Steamworld Heist with dig on Wii U and it was my best indie purchase I think for a long time. That was 20 bucks.

Already have so much to play right now, but this one will go right to the top of the list. Have been eagerly anticipating it. Nice to hear it lives up to expectations, not that there was ever any doubt.

Really like the looks of this and that 6-7 hour playtime seems like the sweet spot for a game like this. That it's not a stretched out or bloated experience makes it even more appealing. Must finish Mario + Rabbids first.

After the first few lines I thought, "Dis gonna be a 9", but as I read the rest of it I had the impression an 8 was incoming as it didn't seem to be raising the bar much. Hey-ho, pleased to hear it's good.

Yep, definitely picking this up. Didn't play Dig, but I loved Heist to pieces. I suspect one reviewer's six hours is another gamer's 12 hours, at least in my experience - I like to poke my nose into every corner. But it would be a good price anyway.

You're not missing anything. You just don't like it. Nothing wrong with that. For example, Switch was my first introduction to beloved classics Binding of Isaac and Cave Story and I didn't like them. It's all subjective.

The first Steam World gime was one of my absolute favorite games in the E-shop so it is pretty well guaranteed that I will buy it on the Switch. The only question is when, I have a bit of a full plate at the moment and gems like these aren't helping the situation!

@BensonUii That's a great idea. When I read the 6 hours part I thought there might not be enough there for a physical release, but if they include those games then that would make it worth while. Hope they consider it!

It's disappointing to hear that you can get to the end credits in 6 hours, only 1 hour longer than the first game according to HLTB. It does sound like you could make it to 10 hours if you went to get everything. It does put a bit of a dampener on my hype that it doesn't last longer.

@justin233 I'd have to disagree on the value for money argument when it came to spending €20 on Steamworld Heist. I have played that game for over 150 hours on multiple playthroughs. You know that most of the levels are randomly generated right? Heist has almost limitless replay value.

@justin233 it's good (PAN-PAN), but it's very very short. Not a problem for me, I would have paid more even for its length, but for someone counting their pennies per hour just be warned. I don't ever think a game should ever be equated by cost to length of game, it's the value of quality time spent, never # of hours.

I only beat Dig 1 earlier this year, but I enjoyed the hell out of it. "Metroidvania meets Mr. Driller? Why did it take me so long to play this?"

My main complaint was that it was so short. I was hoping Dig 2 would be longer, and it sounds like it is, but probably not by much. I'm still absolutely buying it, but a bit disappointing, wanted a longer game.

@Tyranexx@Saego The first SteamWorld Dig is a On the House game on Origin so all you need is a Orgin account then you can download it to your PC for free which I don't see why anyone wouldn't do (unless you don't have a PC that can run it)

Almost late to the party as usual, but seems some of you are still here! Thanks for all the kind words, and thanks to Nintendo Life for a mighty fine review! Go ahead and ask me ANYTHING about SWD2 - I'll answer as soon as I've slept a couple of hours. The game currently sits at 93/100 at OpenCritic = 3rd best game of 2017 after BotW and Persona 5, which feels good and right. And to clarify a couple of things: 1. @rjejr/@ThomasBW84 - thanks, the € price in the box is wrong, it should be €19.99. Too cheap, yeah, I know. 2. You can finish the game in 6.5 hours (speedrunners will shave lots off that too) if you're under time pressure, but SWD2 is really a game about exploration. Finding the easy third of the secrets in that time means you've got A LOT left to discover - and only a cool 100% unlocks the (unmentioned and) surprising post-game content that we've got in store for completionists. Cheers!

Definitely getting this and Thimbleweed Park from the eshop tomorrow. Hopefully I can finish Samus Returns (five more metroid left) tonight. I've purchased so many games this year and am FINALLY caught up on all of them so I'm trying not to get overwhelmed again.

The game is fantastic.......due to Heist being turned based and my love of that genre I haven't fallen in love with Dig 2 as much as Heist yet but it seems to be an improvement in every way over SteamWorld Dig.

Then again I'm only an hour in and I have a feeling I'm no where near being able to finish it in 6.5 hours. Probably exploring too much

@imageform While playing the original Dig I was a little annoyed that materials could be crushed by rocks, especially since there is a limited amount. Is that feature still in Dig 2? If it is then around what precentage of items can you let get destroyed before you lose the ability to buy every upgrade? A general percent would be nice but probably hard to figure :^P

@Dayton311: Do you have any plans on post release content at all (new characters, items, or proper DLC)?No concrete plans for SWD2 (yet). There's plenty of more gameplay in SWD2 - a game in itself - for 100% completionists.

@Nincompoop: The download file size is smaller than the first game, why? Isn't there more content than the first game?There is WAY more content in SWD2. This'll sound pompous, but we're (a) way better at making games now, and (b) the graphics don't need huge sprite maps anymore as our animation system is completely revamped. Some games are bloated because devs don't optimize properly. This too sounds pompous, but we think that's important. Especially on the Switch where real estate comes at a premium.

@ieatdragonz: While playing the original Dig I was a little annoyed that materials could be crushed by rocks, especially since there is a limited amount. Is that feature still in Dig 2 [and will you be able to get all upgrades even if rocks crush all resources]?Yes, I really think so.

@otterskateboard: Any chance of a physical release someday?Yes - but it's not imminent. Get the digital version first!

@imageform Thanks for the explanation! These days there are a lot of unoptimised games, those devs just want to brute-force their bloated codes using fast hardware. I'm glad you are not one of them! (I just bought Dig 2 ⛏, great game!)

Looking forward to playing this. Really enjoyed the original and appreciated its somewhat compact size. I've little gaming time right now, though, so I've got to finish Metroid Samus Returns, first. That's going to last awhile, but I'm very much looking forward to playing this game on the big screen. I'm SO done with 3DS! (Sigh... I have to balance this opinion with the fact that the 3D on Metroid is SOOOO good, it makes me wish 3D wasn't so unpopular right now, and who am I kidding? I'm not done with it if I'm still playing a game on it. )

@icebear80 A complete mistake - that icon did not belong in the Switch build to begin with! But now it's been uploaded, so the best we can do is upload a new one as soon as we can - which we've already done. Now we'll see how long it takes to be updated.

@imageform I was going to buy this game until I realised it was yet another game from you with a female protagonist. Funny how a game called Wonderboy gives you the choice, but this game doesn't. If you guys care more about Anita Sarkeesian than actual gamers who are getting sick of having feminist nonsense forced on us, then let's see how many copies Anita will buy. I bought Steamworld Heist, but enough is enough, you can't even alternate the gender from one game to the next. So much for equality.

I see all the enemies in the screenshots are male too, funny how you can give us female protagonists, but not female enemies - something even Anita has spoken in favour of. I guess as feminists you guys are also misandrists and 78.7% of murder victims worldwide being male isn't high enough, so you have to keep normalising violence against men and the idea that this violence is much more acceptable than violence against women. Let's hope you guys don't have sons who become victims of this violence, that you guys are helping to normalise.

Not to mention that when it comes to non-reciprocal domestic violence 70% of the victims are male.

"I have since discovered that the original article that was published on the Harvard Medical School Web site has been scrubbed, and my guess is that certain activist groups perhaps pressured the professors to remove it. Most of these institutions depend on endowments and grants to function, so it is understandable how that may have been the cause of its removal."

Are we seriously turning a charming little video game into some sort of ulterior femininist manifesto? Christ man, you gotta get some better s$&t to care about, fast. And also, any decent man this day and age should applaud a dev like these folks for giving the lead to a strong female character. Male ego bruised a bit? We've had the spotlight long enough in this culture, I think you can let the little ladies take off the apron and kick a little ass now, can't ya?

Also I super don't care about your retort, how much of a snowflake I am, or whatever is inevitably going to be lobbed at me in response to me (probably foolishly) expressing my opinion about your opinion. I generally don't even get involved with crap like this but you were JUST dumb enough to get me excited.

I'm a couple of hours in, and it's already clear this game is even better than SteamWorld Dig, which is one of my absolute all-time favorites on 3DS! This is an absolute must-buy for every Switch owner. Cheers @imageform !!!

Finished this game. Was super excited for it after seeing reviews. Unfortunately I didn't like Steamworld dig and I didn't like this one much either.. If you don't like digging for 6+ hours you won't like this much. I'm sure most will enjoy it so try it yourself. Wasn't for me.

I see some people saying 6 hours is pricey for a $20 game, but I think Snipperclips is probably about 6 hours at most for the main mode + party mode + blitz mode, but I managed to squeeze at least 10 hours out of that, so I probably won't have a problem with not getting my money's worth out of this game.

@Scrummer I'm in... at least 10 hours and haven't finished the main game, and that's with minimal backtracking. I don't have a clue how you could beat it in six hours unless you did literally nothing but dig towards story goals. (Then again, I accidentally did an endgame area way before getting the required item that you were supposed to use to access it, whoops?)

One nit-pick that I need to take up with the devs of this fantastic series is an option to adjust the screen size while in docked mode. On my TV the HUD is more than partially obscured, along with the all-important mini-map. If your reading this, Image and Form, please oh please patch this awesome game.

I didn't play through part 1, since I quickly got bored with it.But this one improves in every area.Much thanks to better gear, and more exciting worlds to explore.

Too bad it was so short though.I though maybe I had got trough half of the game, when I encountered the end boss.Took me 5 hrs to complete, focusing on the story.But those hours was some of the best gaming so far this year